Tourism contribution to GDP nosedives despite revenue spike

Two tourists being served at Sun Island Resort & Spa. PHOTO: NISHAN ALI/MIHAARU

The tourism sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Maldives has dropped over the past four years despite increasing by 53.7 percent in revenue.

According to the official statistics published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, tourism contribution to GDP stood around 25.2 percent in 2013 and 2014, and at 23.2 percent in 2015. The percentage had nosedived to 19.6 percent in 2016.

However revenue from the tourism industry had generally increased over the same period. The tourism sector brought in MVR 4.1 billion in 2013, MVR 5.6 billion in 2014, MVR 6.5 billion in 2015, and MVR 6.3 billion last year.

Statistics also show that tourists’ expenditure in the Maldives had increased over the past four years with MVR 33 million in 2013, MVR 50 million in 2014, MVR 104 million in 2015, and MVR 146 million in 2016.

The Maldives had recorded over 1.2 million tourist arrivals last year.

While tourism’s contribution to the GDP has dropped, the industry with the second highest contribution to GDP is transport and communication at 13 percent.

Meanwhile, construction and real estate contribute to seven percent of the GDP, followed by the fishing industry at four percent.